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Crimson Dawn: Running Dark
Underneath Crystal City. It's dark, dank, disorienting and maybe a little bit creepy. Yet Blurr's encrypted log hinted at someone down here, someone who knew about the plans for Crystal City, and seemed to be Autobot oriented if not aligned. However, directions were sketchy about WHERE to go down here. Only the most basic of information was given, which makes sense really, if there is an Intel Operative in the underground, they'd not want to reveal their position easily. For now, Blurr's small squad is down here to look for signs of whomever had the skills to hack into the encrypted Autobot line, and provide a challenging code to break. Stagnant hydraulic fluid is several feet deep, about up to Hubcap's shins. Lights give off odd reflections, occasionally revealing a petrolrat that promptly disappears into the darkness. For now, there is only forward.... Elita One's posed. Arcee really, really doesn't like it down here. It isn't so much the feeling of being trapped from all sides, but even with the most advanced mapping systems, there's that uneasy thought that perhaps nav-systems could fail in this place; THEN where would they be? "Why mechs try to survive down in this place is beyond me..." she mutters with a frown, studying the readings coming from the tunnels. Blurr would rather speed on through here, skimming across the nasty pools of hydraulic fluid and avoiding stains but he can't just leave his team in the dust. So he splashes through them, grumbling a bit though he supposes he understands the need for clandestine locations such as this. A few megacycles ago he'd received an encrypted message that implied someone wanted to meet him somewhere, and that somewhere ended up being here. He occasionally glances down at the readouts on a datapad to see if his surroundings are familiar to any information the message had given. "Desperation tends to make mechs crazy." he comments in response to Arcee. "Though...if we don't see any progress within the next three or four cycles I say we call it and head back." "Right." Arcee typically gets a little annoyed when she's trying to have a conversation with Blurr and he's already a number of steps ahead of her, although with the surroundings being what they are, she's actually got a little haste in her own step today. Was that a petrolrat back there? UGH... Combat: Arcee compares her Accuracy to 70: Success! Combat: Blurr compares his Accuracy to 70: Success! The sewers just seem downright foreboding at points, and in the current room the team is in, the ground seems to slope downward further, going up to Hubcap's hips. In the darkness of the waters, *things* move. Perhaps it's better not to know exactly what else is down here. However, luck has not abandoned the Autobots in their attempt to locate their target, as the trio, as perceptive as they are, all spot something small, something out of place here. A perfectly new looking canister! While everything else here has been corroded with time and slime, this one piece seems much, much newer. A small thing really, meant to hold something important like documents perhaps? Hubcap glances up at Arcee. "People survive where they can, they don't always get to choose." He then turns to Blurr, and smirks, "We've cracked their shell, next we..." He freezes for a moment. "Is it just me, or is this getting deeper?" "It *is* getting deeper," Arcee says to Hubcap with a frown. "Let me know if it's too deep for you, because you can stand on my shoulders if you need to." She peers over toward the canister, her blue optic-shine reflecting on it. "...Hey, look..." "That has to be intentional." Blurr reaches over to pick it up and open it. Seriously, though, he's getting a bit exasperated with this stupid scavenger hunt business. Couldn't they have come up with something better? Like the Decagon is pretty secure... The container opens with only a modicum of effort. A light flashes the moment it opens up. A few moments later, a small hologram silently spells out a few letters. 'WATCH ME FLOW'. Just as silently, the image flickers away after everyone gets a good glimpse of it. Arcee stares at the message pensively, then looks over at Hubcap. "Any ideas?" Hubcap flinches, raising an arm to cover his face. Slowly he lowers it as the hologram appears and speaks. "I cannot believe you actually did that! Just open the mysterious container, no checks or precautions." "Did you see what it said? It said, 'Watch Me Flow'," Arcee tells Hubcap. She's pretty used to Blurr's live-for-the-moment kind of actions, like...opening random sewer canisters. Hubcap sighs, well, they survived, so best to focus on the problem at hand. "Appropriate, given where we are. Could be an anagram, maybe some data embedded in the message... " "Wow, really?" Blurr looks annoyed and tosses the cannister away. "That's it?" He is not a patient person. At all. And he's pretty close to calling it quits even though it's been nowhere near even 1 cycle. "If these people really want our help, why wouldn't they just come to Iacon?" he grumbles. In the meantime, Arcee is scoping out the rest of this area, garbage and all. She saw 'Star Wars' at a Junk screening not long ago, and the thought of a garbage monster below the inky depths is beginning to creep her out. A lot. She pulls her gun and begins glancing around for a flow. Or something with sharp teeth. Apparently sometimes impatience leads to proper results! Blurr throws the little container away, into the high water of the room, unlike it's barely above the waterline origin. The small container, watersealed again, promptly starts to float on the waters here and then...starts to drift down a side tunnel. Arcee stares...and stares some more at the container. "Watch...me...flow, Blurr don't you go anywhere, come look at this right now! It's propelling on its *own*," she points out. "Come on, let's keep it in sight!" Hubcap shrugs a shoulder back at Blurr. "I'm no psychiatrist. I'm not..." He pauses as Blurr's outburst reveals the solution. "Really?" Blurr doesn't even notice the cannister floating away, much less make the connection between that and the message. "Hmph. You know what, this is pointless. Like I said, if these people really need our help, they can come to Iacon, at least -that- won't require swimming in tailpipe grease." And then he starts to stalk off. "Maybe one of you can leave a note or something, at least ours would be a bit more clear." Arcee catches up to the little beacon, and catches it to hold it still for a moment, then she looks back, hoping Blurr isn't already gone. "Maybe this person is STRANDED and has no way to GET to Iacon," she insists. "They want to help us. I think we should go investigate, this could be worth our time!" "If they wanted it that badly they'd come to us, not make us walk around in this mess!" Blurr argues, waving a hand dramatically about to indicate the nasty environment. He pauses, standing there hesitantly for a moment before finally coming back. Arcee seems to have a way with him....that no one else does. "Fiiiineee..." he groans. Still, these people are going to get an audio receptor-full, though. Hubcap gives Blurr a flat look. "/You're/ complaining about this stuff. Let me just check, who's about half your size?" He jabs his thumb in the direction the water's flowing. "Clues lead that way." "Hubs, let me know if it gets too deep for you, okay?" Arcee repeats, and she lets the small device go again so it can move on its own. Still grumbling, Blurr ignores Hubcap and follows Arcee. "It -better- be nearby." And they had better have something -worthwhile- to offer, too. Arcee sighs. So grumpy. SO grumpy. Worse than Rod EVER was; how she's able to deal with it, Primus only knows. After much cajoling and judging, the Autobots move to follow the canister's path. Slow, methodical travel comes next, as the Bots follow the canister. Into another room, down a tunnel into some sort of retention pool that Hubcap finds himself completely underwater for a bit, and then an odd thing happens.. The Canister touches the edge of the retention pond and rolls up off of the side, a mere fraction of an inch, and starts to roll. down a non descript hallway. *FLASH* A defunct, junked out drone opens its eye, unleashing a blue gridlike scanner beam, as the Bots come walking up, a trap perhaps! <> The drone activates a hover system, rattling as it gets airborne, then starts to head out of the area at a surprisingly slow speed. Arcee tries to keep the faith as much as she can, although all this walking through strange territory is making her jumpy. And Blurr's agitation is making it worse. When the scanner comes on, she flinches in surprise, although she relaxes when it completes a scan. "...Not sure if this is a good sign or a bad one, we'll just need to be ready for anything," she murmurs quietly. Yech, more disgusting slag. And then there's a drone that scans them and announces their arrival. Wait, what if this is just a trap set by the Decepticons, just to humiliate them? He sloshes through the even deeper retention pools, but hesitates to follow the drone. "How do we know this isn't a trap?" Hubcap is ignored, but he's used to people wishing he didn't exist. So it goes quite well until he finds himself submerged. Clambering out of the pool, he lets the , uh, liquid drain off. "I am not waterproof, That's Bumblebee." Rewind has arrived. "The answer is we don't really know for sure," Arcee admits. "But you took a chance opening that capsule -- right? Let's see this through," Arcee says to Blurr as she looks over at Hubcap. "I told you, you can stand on my shoulders if it's too deep!" A panel door opens behind the trio, two figures with weapons drawn, already pointed at Blurr and Arcee. "If it were a trap..." The figures slowly lower their weapons, "You'd be in a bad spot....Comms systems get jammed easily down here." The other mech motions to the fluid, "Well, for lesser mechs it does. Bee here is waterproof." "How about we stop being all mysterious and invite in our guests?" A third voice calls out from behind. The second mech sighs, "It's so boring down here, can't we at least get a MINUTE of intrigue or badaftery before getting back to work. The first mech adds, "Smelt of a way to impress people, Bandwidth....Smelt of a way." A taller, leaderly type mech appears, a sleek combination of colors of black and blue, "Time enough for that later. Sorry to drag you all the way down here, Autobots, but we've just recently hacked into Crystal City's mainframe and need constant vigilance to keep the connection secure. Name's Bandwidth, and with the Mesh Runners' help down here...I think you've just about got this city liberated." "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bandwidth...although I have to say it was quite the trip you took us on," Arcee says, when she finally relaxes enough to have any words at all. Her relief is almost palpable. For a long moment, she was beginning to wonder whether this had been a wild chase straight into a trap. Blurr arches a brow ridge at Bandwith. "So you've hacked the mainframe without Soundwave knowing?" he looks a bit apprehensive at this. "I don't think I could believe that without seeing it." How would they prove Soundwave doesn't know... "If you need to keep your connection secure, you probably would've been better off contacting Blaster directly." And dragging -him- down here instead of Blurr. Yeah, that would've just been better all around. Hubcap climbs to his feet, "Appreciate the offer Arcee, just wasn't expecting..." He trails off as Bandwidth and his allies appear. Looking at the drone, then back, he remarks, "Just so you know, that thing is really outdated." Bandwidth snorts, "Yeah, and alert Soundwave to what we've been up to? It was hard enough as it was to find a place deep enough that Con sensors don't reach. We had to build next to this exoxide fluid reservior just to discourage patrols. Eats up the fuel lines you know." He turns his back, motioning the come-along gesture as he leads back inside. "Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, 'Its impossible to crack into the systems here in Cee Cee...That's Crystal City. 'C.C.' and yeah, its just about right." He jerks a thumb to one mech in a laid back chair who seems plugged into a system, "Delkey there has spent a long time slowly creeping into the system. See, not long ago Shockwave and Soundwave switched control of the city...and Airwolf before them, etcetera etcetera, and during each of these exchanges, everyone puts in their own protective measures, their locks. Ole Delkey here gets to slip in a bit deeper each time, he's been stuck here for so long, his body's atrophied. Ain't that right, Delkey?" The mech doesn't respond, heck, he may not even be alive. The Mesh Runners quarters are run down, even worse than the Sentinels, everything's either junked out or cobbled together out of junk. "But that DOES mean we have security overrides. And THAT, Autobots, is a lot to work with. Just got to do it subtle!" Firewire looks over to Hubcap, "Yeah, everything has to be outdated here. Glad you didn't shoot it though, it was one of those last ditch efforts to alarm us if there was a patrol nearby. Acts like a proper Con drone, so we can maintain the appearance that the scanners at least are workin down here." Arcee stares at Delkey, wondering if he's still *there*. But he must be, if he was able to provide the other Mesh Runners with the information regarding Crystal City's leadership. The decision to accept their help wasn't up to her...but if it was, she'd find one of the more tech-capable engineers and get this group a better setup, more modern equipment. This hovel was such a dump! "Imagine what you could do here with more modern, upgraded equipment," she mentions. "Are you insinuating that contacting Blaster would alert Soundwave to your presence and plans?" Blurr asks, following them inside because it sure sounds like that. "And that he's untrustworthy? Because if you don't trust him, you shouldn't trust -us-, either." And that's the truth. He glances at Delkey, feeling a twinge of mercy for him, though perhaps he is not beyond help, and after this is all over, he could possibly have him sent to Operations at the Decagon. Hubcap is ignored /and/ insulted, all at once, but his attention is quickly focused On Bandwidth. "You penetrated their system between security updates? That's some impressive work." "Oh, yeah--and seriously, you need better equipment." Blurr says, gesturing around at the dump in general. "We could get in touch with Operations, they could get you something better." Bandwidth strokes his chin, perhaps attempting a 'dashing pose'. "Well, maybe it was good fortune we chose to use older material, it helps keep our profile low. Still, time for that's changing, eh?" He motions back to Delkey "It's mostly been him, Bumblebee. The rest of us process what info comes out, and transfer everything onto a hardlined server...keeps it off of the network, and we can also see what information's been deleted or altered. Pretty handy to check out Con politics." Firewire sits on a grate crate, typing away at a keyboard, "Blaster's heavily monitored by the OpFor...Opposing Force, Decepticons. Those two have been waging an info-war longer than most of us have been functional. You don't think Blaster keeps a close eye on Soundwave's work, checking for his audio fingerprint, or scanning for signs on his favored frequencies? We're the Mesh Runners, we're got the LPP...that's Lowest Possible Profile, ain't nobody who knows about us." Bandwidth pauses, then turns, "Or rather, that's what it WOULD be, if one of our own couriers didn't get snagged a breem ago. We were *going* to contact you all nice and proper, maybe even leave the city somehow to talk on your terms, but then Broadband got captured." He adds, disgusted, "He's an info courier. And he still has info on him...so we had to go get your attention quickly, risky like....Glad to see you made it though." Arcee smiles. What a find! And Blurr was almost not patient enough to find these guys, she thinks to herself. She takes a little bit of pride in that, even though Blurr's going to get the credit for finding them. That's not something that she minds very much, especially since he had a change of heart and decided to follow through on her own insistance. "Why don't you guys make a list of items you could use down here, and...we'll see what we can do to procure them? No promises on everything but we'll do the best we can?" That's a project she can work on. Hubcap gets a smile...even he was persistent enough to walk underneath all the much just to get here. Hubcap nods appreciatively. "I assume your intrusion countermeasures are more modern than that drone back there. Oh, and no offense? I cracked your encryption, that means Soundwave could too." Firewall squints, "You cracked it?" He shakes his head, then looks down the ways to another bot in the back, "Bluetooth! Bumblebee cracked your encryption. I told you it was pretty shifty!" "No way, that thing was solid!" comes the distant reply. Firewall continues, "Well, yeah he has a chance, he's always got a chance. But the fact we're all not dead, sorta indicates he still hasn't found us." He puts on a grim face, "Doesn't mean he won't do it though, someday..bound to happen." "Broadband, eh?" Blurr glances at the various outdated displays around the room. "What was his last known status? We might be able to track him down." Especially if he has valuable information, of course. He turns to Firewall. "Uh, that's actually Hubcap, not Bumblebee. I know...they kind of look alike. But Hubcap's our other communications specialist." "And Bumblebee is part of the recon team. He's better at scouting and spying, whereas Hubcap is more skilled at data analysis and such. Hm." Blurr considers something. "Well if Blaster is too high-profile, maybe Hubcap could assist you down here, and I'll get a team together to see if we can find Broadband." Bandwidth raises a hand as he shrugs a little, "Honestly, we're considering him as good as dead. The guy's got spirit, ain't no disputing that, but if you think you can find him...." He motions over to Firewall, who opens up a so-last-generation-literally hologram display. It's eight-bit. His alt-mode is a comms van. For a bit, Earther tech was big here." A television van appears on screen. "He's not fast, but he's really hard to pry anything out of. Everything he archives is encrypted 256 times over. Something about his processor. Anyway, We're pretty certain he got snagged by a Con patrol. But since we're still not dead, he can't be in Soundwave's clutches." Bandwidth shrugs, "That's all we know without pressing our footprint any higher. L.P.P. has to be top priority." Firewall staggers back a hair, raising both hands, "Oh uh. sorry. Never really worked with Autobots before. My bad, Hubcap." A voice from the back calls out again, "It wasn't Bumblebee?" Firewall turns to yell back into the distance, "No! It was Hubcap!" "Who?" "Their comms guy!" Arcee puts a reassuring hand on Hubcap's shoulder. Poor Hubcap. He must get this a lot. Blurr nods, taking note of the holograms. Okay, so they have a basic idea of what he looks like, and that he'd gotten captured by -a- patrol. "Any idea where he was when the patrol grabbed him? I mean, we need to at least have some idea." If it had been in the same area, there's a good chance he was taken to a prison facility in Crystal City. "Around here, or elsewhere?" (to be continued)